Penetrating injury in terror attacks

Abstract

The US Department of Defense defines terrorism as the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.1 The method used by the attacker will depend on various factors and include conventional as well as nonconventional weapons. Penetrating injuries may result from stabbing, high- and low-velocity firearms, objects that impale, and shrapnel. Injuries caused by these means have been extensively described in surgical and medical literature. This chapter covers penetrating injuries caused by methods and weapons used commonly by terrorists. Among them, stabbings and suicide bombings result in distinctive patterns of injury that are of particular relevance to terror medicine. © 2009 Springer New York.